The MLB regular season is quickly winding down, with teams jockeying for playoff position with about 10-12 games left in the regular season.
One team on the cusp of excellent positioning to have home-field advantage throughout the postseason is down in the Bronx in the New York Yankees. The Yankees have the best record in the AL at (89-63), with the Cleveland Guardians only two losses back in the loss column at (89-65). As we approach the final stretch, every game determines the playoff picture.
Marcus Stroman To Bullpen?
As the Yankees gear up to unleash their full potential heading into the postseason, they recently made a significant change to their starting rotation by moving starting pitcher Marcus Stroman to the bullpen.
This bold move aims to optimize their starting rotation, features Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, and Nestor Cortes. This past month, Stroman’s performance started to go downhill, as he had an ERA of 6.75 in September in the three games he pitched against the Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals, and Seattle against the Mariners.
In the games against the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals, Stroman’s performance was less than stellar. His ERA was 4.03 and 4.07 in these losses, respectively. At one point, Stroman’s ERA was a concerning 8.00, and he allowed 16 hits and eight earned runs in just nine innings. These numbers, coupled with the postseason approaching, prompted GM Aaron Boone to make a change in the starting rotation.
With Stroman’s struggles, many are questioning whether he’ll be on the Yankees’ playoff roster come October. Stroman will be in the bullpen as a relief pitcher until further notice, as the Yankees’ pitching depth is deeper with guys back healthy. Stroman signed a two-year, $37 million deal with the Yankees in January, including a player option.
The Yankees hope the former All-Star will find his confidence and rhythm before the start of the postseason as they look to make a World Series run.
As we near the final home stretch of the MLB season, with each team having around 40 games left to play, the playoffs are rapidly approaching.
Teams are strategically positioning themselves for home-field advantage in the postseason, all while ensuring their key players are in top condition for a potential deep postseason run.
Amidst the buzz surrounding superstar Aaron Judge, who recently set a record by becoming the fastest player to hit 300 career homers in their victory against the Chicago White Sox, and Juan Soto being the second man, let’s not forget the potential impact of Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton on their chances of a potential deep postseason run. His contributions could be crucial in the upcoming games.
The Yankees are rolling, securing six victories in their last ten games. With the team finding its groove and Jazz Chisholm Jr. out for an unspecified time down the stretch, Stanton, 34, is still looking to find his consistency after coming back from a hamstring strain that kept him sidelined on the IL for over a month.
Since returning to the mound for their three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Stanton has struggled to find consistency at bat, converting on just nine of his last 40 (22.5%) at-bats.
Stanton’s best game since returning from his hamstring strain was against the Texas Rangers on Aug.11 in the final game of a three-game series, where he had two hits and a run while assisting with four RBIs to help the Yankees prevail in an 8-7 victory.
More performances like the one against the Rangers will be crucial for the Yankees as they close the regular season and head into the postseason, where Stanton’s potential to deliver in high-pressure situations could be a game-changer.
Stanton has proven reliable and clutch in high-voltage moments in his career when his team needs him to come through. Unfortunately, the last five seasons have been ravaged and filled with injuries, which have undoubtedly affected his performance. These injuries include a torn ACL (2019), strained left hamstring (2020), strained left quadricep (2021), right ankle inflammation, tendinitis in his left Achilles (2022), and a strained left hamstring again in 2023.
Injuries can take a massive toll on an athlete’s mobility, causing wear and tear physically and mentally. However, the Yankees have some high-level opponents coming up to prove whether they’re contenders or pretenders in the next before the regular season winds down, going against the Cleveland Guardians (72-50, 1st in AL Central), Seattle Mariners (63-59, 2nd in AL West), and their division rivals the Boston Red Sox (63-56, 3rd in AL East.
Those three games will be an actual battle test the Yankees should have marked on their calendar to see where they stand as the postseason approaches. But, if Stanton can find his groove swinging and dinging at the right time to pair alongside the devastating combination of Soto and Judge, opposing pitchers will have a nightmare waiting for them.
The second half of the MLB season is set to get underway with many teams trying to finish strong to secure a good spot in the standings and have home-field advantage throughout the postseason. One team that has struggled in their last 10 games is the New York Yankees (4-6) but still sit with a (58-40) record (2nd in AL East).
Coming out of the All-Star break, the Yankees hope to get their early season mojo back starting with their four-game series against the Tampa Rays. One man at the forefront as the franchise player responsible for that is none other than AL MVP favorite Aaron Judge.
Judge, 32, is having another historic season with hitting splits of .306/.433/.679, eerily similar to his 2022 MVP year where he posted a batting average of .311, on-base percentage of .425, and slugging percentage of .685.
Judge Leads MLB In Homers
Judge leads the league in home runs (34), RBIs (85), and is first in on-base slugging (1.112). Part of the Yankees struggles recently is in large part due to injuries to key players such as designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton has been dealing with a left hamstring injury he suffered June 22 against the Atlanta Braves that’s kept him out for about two weeks and is expected to still be out for another few weeks before his return.
The Yankees next few opponents after the Rays include their mini–Subway Series against the New York Mets in back-to-back contests, their rivals the Boston Red Sox, and the dominant Philadelphia Phillies. None of these will be easy matchups as the Mets have been playing better as of late, winning seven of their last 10 games and the Phillies sitting atop the NL East and Division.
The Yankees will need Judge to be the prolific hitter he’s been all season long, especially in May and June when he combined for 25 homers, 64 RBIs along with 53 runs across those two months. If they hope to turn it around and have great momentum come playoff time to try to win their first World Series since 2009… It all starts with Aaron Judge.
This season, the Red Sox currently sit third in the AL East behind the two powerhouses in their division the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees.
They have struggled to win at home (14-18) and have been solid on the road (19-15). They are 5-5 in their last 10 games, having just defeated the Chicago White Sox 6-4, led by a young shortstop and second baseman David Hamilton.
Hamilton is in just his second season in MLB, he has steadily improved in the 41 games played this season after playing just 15 games last season. He’s also had 117 at-bats, 33 hits, 19 runs, eight RBIs and three Bro bombs.
Hamilton was the bright spot the Red Sox needed in their big victory over the Chicago White Sox as he was instrumental in crunch time in the ninth inning with the Red Sox down 4-3, he stole third base after hitting a double.
From there he took off to score on a sacrifice fly by Reese McGuire. Hamilton showed his resiliency by having that next-play mentality, making up for the error he made in the fourth inning (one of three for Hamilton during that sequence).
The White Sox had the lead 3-1 off Paul DeJong’s three-run homer. The gallant Hamilton stormed back with a solo homer to cut the White Sox lead to 3-2.
David Hamilton Wants To Be A Cornerstone Piece For Boston Red Sox Rise
Hamilton recalled the emotions of not wanting to let his team down:
“I [messed] up, I tried to make a stupid flip. I should have just gotten out. Just a lot of emotion. I don’t like letting the team down. I don’t like letting people down.”
Hamilton kept his word, helping his team secure the victory going 2-for-5 with two runs, two hits, a home run, and an RBI to leave his imprint on the game with an injury-riddled roster with 2018 Red Sox champion third baseman Rafael Devers (left knee) and two-time Gold Glove award-winning outfielder Tyler O’Neill (right knee) injured.
The Red Sox played with seven relievers. They now will have a six-game homestead against the Phillies and Yankees.
With Hamilton continuing to improve, the Red Sox management should feel optimistic about one of their young cornerstones finding his confidence to impact winning.
The Boston Red Sox may not be the world beaters, they once were the years they won World Series titles (‘04, ‘07, ‘13,’18).
Since that World Series title in 2018, the Red Sox have made the postseason just once, making a deep run in 2021 to the ALCS against the Houston Astros where they lost the series 4-2.
Aside from that, the Red Sox franchise has struggled to be relevant and reach the postseason repeatedly. Hopefully, Hamilton is another piece that will catapult them back to the top of the American League East.
Being in shape is critical for optimal performance in sports at any level, whether high school, college, or professional.
Peak condition is a desire and dedication to perform well individually, while also contributing to the success of your team or organization, whether it be a team sport (football, basketball, soccer, baseball) or an individual one (tennis, boxing).
Coming into the season, the media hype was made about New York Yankees designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton reshaping his body to be better equipped for a long grueling MLB 162-game season.
We heard the rumblings, but most fans were waiting to see how it translated to the field.
Stanton has done just that for the Yankees who sit atop the AL East at (30-15) overall with a batting average, OPS (on-base plus slugging), and slug percentage line of .243/.764/.472 respectively.
Those numbers are much better compared to last year, the worst year of the former 2017 NL MVP and five-time All-Star’s career where he had career lows across the board of .191/.275/.420 along with an OPS of .695.
During the offseason, Stanton focused his workouts on being more movement-based to “Be a baseball player again,” Stanton said Monday morning at Steinbrenner Field. “I just needed to be more mobile. A lot of setbacks [last season] kept me not moving the way I’d like to be.”
The Yankees outfielder incorporated a lot of cardio this past offseason more than years past for his 6-foot-6, 245-pound unique frame for a baseball player that seems more built for the NBA.
Stanton has had a slew of lower body injuries due to his style of play and body build throughout his career which led to some mechanical and physical changes he worked on this offseason, something he mutually agreed on with the Yankees’ upper management.
While Stanton may not be the showstopping hitter he once was in his heyday, he’s still an impactful piece to the puzzle of the Yankees’ success as a hitter and savvy veteran for the luminous Bronx team.
He was instrumental in their recent win in the first of two against the Minnesota Twins where they defeated them 5-1 in a game where Stanton hit a home run and an RBI to help propel the Yankees to victory.
Stanton’s nine home runs this season are tied for 15th in the MLB.
Stanton has done all you can want in a baseball player, but the only thing missing is that elusive World Series title.
I don’t get paid to be a standup guy or say the right things,” he said. “I’m here to produce and help us win a championship. That hasn’t happened and it needs to. The noise back and forth, whatever, it needs to be done. I don’t listen to noise. I understand the facts and that’s what hasn’t happened.”
Stanton hopes to help lead the Yankees to their first World Series title since 2009.
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